Published in the Durango Telegraph June 3, 2004
Durango’s Adaptive Sports Association, which has been around for more than 20 years, now has its own patron saint. Built from various pieces of scrap, the saint, who towers more than 7 feet and has lanky arms like a monkey and curly yellow hair, welcomes company. After all, she is part of Durango Mountain Resort’s history, having worked hard shuttling skiers up Lift 1 for years.
The patron saint, created by local artist Krista Harris, is part of a current fund-raiser for the nonprofit organization. But the saint won’t be sitting in the ASA offices, watching over its staff and students. Instead, she’ll end up wherever her winning bidder sets her.
“A Lift for Chair-ity” is ASA’s new fund-raising event. It includes six double chairs from DMR’s original Lift 1. In an effort to provide local artists a creative outlet while also raising money for the organization, ASA is auctioning off the chairs, which can be used as everything from porch swings to patio benches.
Each local artist given a chair has made his or her own imaginative mark. Harris’ patron saint is a colorful collection of scrap she found in her own back yard.
“We have a big junk pile I’m always complaining about, but every time I need something, I go to it,” says Harris.
From the pile, she fetched the saint’s yellow skirt – what once was the bottom of a Weber grill. The skirt, held in place with two welded-on horseshoes, sports an ASA theme with the organization’s logos. Her arms are metal conduit pipe. She has a red tin heart on her vented chest. Her bucket head is fleshed out with drawer-pull eyes, a bicycle cog for her mouth and drain baskets for ears, which Harris says came from a 1950 Spartan aluminum trailer she and her husband restored last year…